1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tire anti-skid apparatus which is mounted on each tire of a vehicle when it is snowing and a linking apparatus and, in particular, to a tire anti-skid apparatus including anti-skid members made of non-metal such as rubber and plastic and a linking apparatus suitable for such tire anti-skid apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as a tire anti-skid apparatus, there has been widely used a chain made of metal. However, the metal-made chain produces large noises when a vehicle runs, vibrates the vehicle to thereby make a driver and occupants uncomfortable, and damages the road surface greatly to thereby have an ill effect on the environment. For these reasons, recently, there has been developed a tire anti-skid apparatus which is made of non-metal (For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,271).
FIG. 16 is a plan view of a tire anti-skid apparatus which is disclosed in the above-cited Patent. As shown in FIG. 16, a tire anti-skid apparatus 10 includes a plurality of (here, six) anti-skid members 12 (12a-12f) which are disposed in the peripheral direction of a tire tread surface. These anti-skid members 12 are respectively made of plastic (for example, polyurethane elastomer) which is non-metal, and each of the anti-skid members 12 includes a mesh-shaped anti-skid tread portion 13. The anti-skid tread portion 13 includes a plurality of metal-made anti-skid pins 14 disposed on a spike surface a which is the front-side surface of the anti-skid tread portion 13. Each anti-skid member 12 includes a pair of leg portions 16 and 18 which are respectively disposed on the end portions thereof that, when the anti-skid member 12 is mounted on the tire, respectively provide the outside of the vehicle and the inside of the vehicle.
The leg portion 18 providing the vehicle inside is mounted through a hook 20 serving as a connecting portion and a fixing member 22 to an inner linking member 24, whereby the anti-skid members 12 are connected together to the inner linking member 24. The inner linking member 24 is formed of a plastic-made tube 26, which is relatively hard and non-flexible, and a flexible metal-made stranded wire 28 which is penetrated through the tube 26. Joints 30a and 30b are disposed on the two ends of the wire 28, so as to form a loop by connecting together the joints 30a and 30b. 
On the other hand, the leg portion 16, which provides the vehicle outside when the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 is mounted onto the tires, is connected through the hook 20 to an outer linking member 32 (32a-32h) which connects together two mutually adjoining anti-skid members 12. The outer linking members 32a, 32h for tightening together the anti-skid members 12a, 12f at the two ends of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 and the outer linking members 32d, 32e for tightening together the anti-skid members 12c, 12d in the central portion of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 can be linked to each other and separated from each other by linking hooks 34. Also, the respective outer linking members 32 are formed of elastic material which can be expanded and compressed, such as polyurethane elastomer and, therefore, they can be mounted on tires having different sizes.
And, tightening lock mechanisms 36 are interposed between the outer linking members 32b and 32c as well as between the outer linking members 32f and 32g. This tightening lock mechanism 36 includes two V-shaped tightening arms 40 disposed on the two sides of its main body portion 38: that is, by rotating the main body portion 38, the tightening arm 40 is pulled toward the main body portion 38 and is locked, thereby reducing the diameter of a loop formed by the outer linking members 32, metal-made connecting hooks 42 and tightening lock mechanisms 36, so that the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 can be fixed to the peripheral surface of the tires.
Now, FIGS. 17A and 17B are views of the appearance of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10, showing a state thereof in which it is mounted on a tire 44. Specifically, FIG. 17A is a front view thereof, when it is viewed from outside the vehicle and FIG. 17B is a back view thereof, when it is viewed from inside the vehicle.
By the way, in the case of generally known metal-made chain and non-metal-made tire anti-skid apparatus, when they are mounted onto a tire, the tire must be rotated to a certain degree. However, in the case of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,271 as the related art, when it is mounted onto a tire, the tire need not be rotated at all (that is, to rotate the tire by a quarter of the entire periphery of the tire is not necessary), and the mounting of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 can be carried out easily with a slight force.
Here, description will be given below of the process for mounting the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 16 onto the tire 44 with reference to FIGS. 18 to 22.
Firstly, in a state where, as shown in FIG. 16, the anti-skid pin 14 projecting side of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10, that is, the spike surface a thereof faces upward, the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 is inserted from the side of the tire 44 into the inside 44A of the tire 44 and is placed on the ground (snow surface). At the then time, while the linking hook 34 is removed from the outer linking member 32d, as shown in FIG. 18, the inner linking member 24 of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 is set on this side (on the operator""s side) and also the inner linking member 24 is bent in such a manner that the two end portions of the inner linking member 24 are set nearer to the operator"" side than the outside 44B of the tire 44.
Next, as shown in FIG. 19, an operator holds by hands the joints 30a and 30b in such a manner that the spike surface a of the anti-skid tread portion faces on the front side, and puts the joints 30a and 30b on the upper portion of the tire 44 and connects them together (see FIG. 20), thereby turning the inner linking member 24 into a loop. After then, the loop-shaped inner linking member 24 is dropped down into the inside 44A of the tire 44 and, at the same time, with the spike surface a facing on the front side, the outer linking members 32 are pulled out to the outside 44B of the tire 44. And, as shown in FIG. 21, in a state where the back surface b of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 is contacted with the tread surface 44C of the tire 44, the outer linking members 32d and 32e are connected together by the linking hook 34 and, next, the outer linking members 32a and 32h are connected together by the linking hook 34.
Further, the main body portions 38 of the pair of tightening lock mechanisms 36 are respectively rotated by a tightening member 46, and the tightening arm 40 is pulled toward the main body portion 38 side and is locked, whereby, as shown in FIG. 22, completing the mounting of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 onto the tire 44. In this manner, by connecting the respective outer linking members 32 with the linking hook 34, the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 can be turned from its developed state into a state for enveloping the tire 44.
And, after the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 envelopes the tire 44, in case where the respective main body portions 38 of the pair of tightening lock mechanisms 36 are rotated and the tightening arms 40 are pulled toward the main body portion 38 side and are locked to thereby reduce the diameter of the loop formed by the outer linking members 32, metal-made connecting hooks 42 and tightening lock mechanism 36, as shown in FIG. 22, the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 is closely contacted with the tire 44, thereby completing the mounting of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 onto the tire 44.
As can be seen clearly from the above description, the reason why, when mounting the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 onto the tire 44, the tire 44 need not be rotated at all is that the outer linking members 32 providing the vehicle outside when the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 is mounted on the tire 44 can be connected and separated at the two portions thereof, that is, between the outer linking members 32a and 32h for tightening together the anti-skid members 12a and 12f located in the two end portions of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 as well as between the outer linking members 32d and 32e for tightening together the anti-skid members 12c and 12d located in the central portions of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10.
By the way, as shown in FIG. 16, the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 includes six anti-skid members 12 disposed in the peripheral direction of the tire tread surface 44C, and the outer linking members 32d and 32e for tightening together the anti-skid members 12c and 12d located in the central portions of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 are set at such a position that the anti-skid members 12 are arranged on the right and left by threes (that is, in the middle of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10). This means that, after the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 is mounted onto the tire 44, as shown in FIG. 17, the portion between the two centrally-situated outer linking members 32d and 32e for tightening together the anti-skid members 12c and 12d is situated in the contact position of the tire 44 with the road surface, whereas the outer linking members 32a and 32h for connecting together the anti-skid members 12a and 12f located in the two end portions of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 are arranged at a position which is 180xc2x0 opposed to the tire and road surface contact position.
Generally, the anti-skid members 12, which are disposed in the peripheral direction of the tire tread surface 44C, are composed of an even number of anti-skid members, that is, four or six anti-skid members, and the portion corresponding to the outer linking members 32d and 32e for tightening together the tow anti-skid members 12 is just in the middle of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 (the position where the anti-skid members 12 are arranged on the right and left by twos or by threes). That is, there has been avoided the following structure in which the anti-skid members 12 are composed of an odd number of anti-skid members, that is, three or five anti-skid members, and the portion corresponding to the outer linking members 32d and 32e for tightening together the two anti-skid members 12 is shifted from the middle of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 (the position on the right and left of which the anti-skid members 12 to be arranged are different in number).
As described above, the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 16 can be mounted onto the tire simply by winding up the two end portions thereof. Also, in such mounting operation, there is completely eliminated the need to rotate the tire 44 and thus the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 can be mounted onto the tire 44 easily and quickly.
Also, before the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 is mounted, the anti-skid members 12 as well as the inner and outer linking members respectively show flat surface states. However, as shown in FIGS. 17 to 22, when mounting the anti-skid apparatus 10 onto the tire 44, the non-metal members forming the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 can be deformed along the surface of the tire 44, or the connecting portions of the parts can be rotated, which makes it possible for the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 to envelope the tire 44 having a three-dimensional shape.
However, the above-mentioned tire anti-skid apparatus 10 has the following problems to be solved.
That is, in the conventional tire anti-skid apparatus 10, due to the rotational movements of the hooks 20 mounted between the anti-skid members 12 and inner and outer connecting members 24, 32, a dimensional difference occurring between them can be absorbed. However, according to the structure of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10, the anti-skid members 12, inner linking members 24 and outer linking members 32 are manufactured as separate parts and, after then, these members must be connected to the anti-skid tread portions 13 by the hooks 20. Therefore, the conventional tire anti-skid apparatus 10 raises a problem that the number of parts and the number of man-hours for assembling increase.
Also, in the conventional tire anti-skid apparatus 10, since the anti-skid tread portions 13 are connected to the inner and outer linking members 24, 32 by the metal-made hooks 20 which are large in rigidity and will not be deformed greatly, the close contact of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 with the tire 44 in the radial direction is not sufficient.
Further, in the conventional tire anti-skid apparatus 10, because the inner linking member 24 is composed of the plastic-made tube 26 having relatively large rigidity and the wire 28, the inner linking member 24 is not easy to bend. For this reason, when storing and keeping the tire anti-skid apparatus 10, the inner linking member 24 is bent into two sections between the centrally-situated anti-skid members 12c and 12d, which requires a large storage space. And, to reduce the storage space, there has been developed a tire anti-skid apparatus (JP-A-2001-71728) in which there are formed cuts in an inner linking member and thus, when storing the tire anti-skid apparatus, six anti-skid members can be folded up in three by twos. However, even in the tire anti-skid apparatus disclosed in the publication, JP-A-2001-71728 as well, there is required a storage space equal to or more than a space where two anti-skid members are arranged side by side. Therefore, there still exists the need to develop a tire anti-skid apparatus which can be stored and kept in a small space.
Still further, since the conventional tire anti-skid apparatus 10 is wholly formed as an integral body which cannot be divided, when removing the looped state of the inner linking members, depending on the stop position of the tire 44, there is a possibility that the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 can be present at a position difficult to operate. Also, when the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 is broken in part for some reasons or there is a danger that the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 can be broken in part, the broken portion cannot be replaced but the whole of the tire anti-skid apparatus 10 must be wasted, which makes it impossible to make effective use of the resources. Therefore, there still exists the need to develop a tire anti-skid apparatus which can be divided into two or more sections.
The present invention aims at eliminating the drawbacks found in the above-mentioned conventional tire anti-skid apparatus. Accordingly, it is a first object of the invention to provide a tire anti-skid apparatus which not only can absorb a dimensional difference occurring between anti-skid members and tightening members when it is mounted onto a tire but also can reduce the number of parts and the number of man-hours for assembling.
Also, it is a second object of the invention to provide a tire anti-skid apparatus which can enhance its close contact with a tire.
Further, it is a third object of the invention to provide a tire anti-skid apparatus which can be stored and kept in a compact space.
Still further, it is a fourth object of the invention to provide a tire anti-skid apparatus which can be easily divided into two or more sections and can be united together into an integral body.
In attaining the above objects, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a tire anti-skid apparatus, having: a plurality of non-metallic anti-skid members adapted to be arranged along a peripheral direction of a tire, the anti-skid members including: an anti-skid tread portion; and a plurality of connecting portions extending from the anti-skid tread portion toward a vehicle inside portion and a vehicle outside portion of the tire; and linking portions adapted to be disposed on the vehicle outside portion and the vehicle inside portion of the tire and linking the connecting portions of the anti-skid members, the linking portions including a linking member provided in the anti-skid member and linking the adjacent connecting portions of the anti-skid member which are situated in the tire peripheral direction. The linking member, the connecting portions and the anti-skid tread portion are formed integrally with one another. The linking member is formed expandable and compressible, and the connecting portion is formed deformable in the tire peripheral direction.
According to a second aspect of the invention, in the tire anti-skid apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, at least two of the anti-skid members are arranged such that the respective anti-skid tread portions are substantially parallel to each other, the linking portion includes a linking part linking the adjacent anti-skid members, and the linking part is formed integrally with the linking member of the anti-skid member and is deformable in a radial direction of the tire.
According to a third aspect of the invention, in the tire anti-skid apparatus according to the second aspect of the invention, the linking part is formed so as to be deformable in a thickness direction thereof.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the tire anti-skid apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, the plurality of anti-skid members are divided into three blocks which are connected to and separated from each other.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the tire anti-skid apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, at least one of the linking portions arranged in vehicle inside portion of the tire and the vehicle outside portion of the tire for linking the anti-skid members is formed as an integral body.
According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the tire anti-skid apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, the connecting portion has a plurality of forked pieces extending from the anti-skid tread portion in the perpendicular direction.
According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the tire anti-skid apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the invention, the forked piece includes a groove in the thickness direction of the anti-skid member.
According to an eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided a linking apparatus having: a U-shaped joint member including a pair of erecting insertion pieces; first and second members joined to each other by the joint member; the first and second members respectively having hole portions into which the insertion pieces are inserted; and, a lock portion formed in at least one of the first and second members and removably inserted between the first and second members at the time of joint of the first and second members such as to press an inner surface of the hole portion against the insertion piece.
Further, according to a ninth aspect of the invention, there is provided a linking apparatus having: first and second members joined to each other; a joint member projected from an end face of the first member; an insertion piece erecting from a leading end of the joint member for inserting into a hole portion formed in the second member; and, a lock portion formed in at least one of the first and second members and removably inserted between the first and second members at the time of joint of the first and second members such as to press an inner surface of the hole portion against the insertion piece.
According to a tenth aspect of the invention, in the linking apparatus according to the eighth or ninth aspect of the invention, the first and second members are formed of elastic material, and the joint member is formed of a material that is substantially rigid with respect to the first and second members.
According to an eleventh aspect of the invention, in the linking apparatus according to the eighth or ninth aspect of the invention, the insertion piece includes an engaging portions in a leading end portion thereof, and the hole portion includes a retaining portion to which the engaging portion of the insertion piece is retained, and the hole portion have such a size that allows the engaging portion of the insertion piece to be engaged therewith and removed therefrom through the mutual relative movements between one of the first and second member and the insertion piece.
According to the above-structured tire anti-skid apparatus, since the anti-skid tread portions of the non-metal-made anti-skid members, the connecting portions pulled out from the anti-skid tread portions, and the linking members for linking together the connecting portions are formed integrally with one another, not only the number of parts can be reduced but also there can be omitted a step of connecting the anti-skid tread portions to the linking portion using the separately formed connecting portions. Also, because the linking members are formed expandable and compressible and the connecting portions are formed deformable in the tire peripheral direction, when the tire outside portion of the tire anti-skid apparatus is reduced in diameter and then the tire anti-skid apparatus is mounted on the tire, the linking members are expanded and the connecting portions are deformed. Therefore, even in case where the above diameter reduction causes a dimensional difference, the dimensional difference can be absorbed easily, which can enhance the degree of close contact of the tire anti-skid apparatus with the tire.
Also, since the non-metal-made anti-skid members, linking members, and linking parts for connecting together the non-metal-made anti-skid members through the linking members are formed integrally with one another, the number of parts can be reduced further. Moreover, because the linking parts for connecting together the non-metal-made anti-skid members through the linking members are formed deformable in the tire radial direction, the respective non-metal-made anti-skid members are able to operate independently from one another; and, also because the anti-skid tread portions of the respective non-metal-made anti-skid members are substantially independent, even in case where the length of the linking portions interposed between the mutually adjoining anti-skid members does not vary, the space between the mutually adjoining anti-skid tread portions can be freely varied in a three-dimensional direction. Thanks to this, when mounting the tire anti-skid apparatus onto the tire, the clearance between the anti-skid members (anti-skid tread portions) on the tire tread surface can be widened in the three-dimensional direction more than the clearance in the plane state of the tire anti-skid apparatus before it is mounted. In this case, although bending stresses are applied to the two end portions of the linking portions that are arranged between the mutually adjoining anti-skid members, since the linking portions are integrally formed of deformable material, the whole of the linking portions can be bent and deformed or the linking parts situated on the anti-skid member side can be bent and deformed, thereby being able to disperse the forces or bending stresses applied. Thanks to this, when the tire anti-skid apparatus is mounted on the tire, the tire anti-skid apparatus can be closely contacted with the surface of the tire.
And, since the linking parts for connecting together the anti-skid members are formed bendable in the thickness direction thereof, the tire anti-skid apparatus can be folded in every anti-skid members, so that the tire anti-skid apparatus can be stored in a small storage space and the safekeeping of the tire anti-skid apparatus can be made easy. Also, because the plurality of anti-skid members are divided into three blocks which can be connected to and separated from each other, the mounting efficiency of the tire anti-skid apparatus can be enhanced. That is, as previously described, conventionally, it is generally approved that the anti-skid members are divided into an even number of blocks. However, it is now found that, even in case where the anti-skid members are divided into three blocks, namely, an odd number of blocks, there arises no problem at all. That is, even in case where an outside connecting portion, which is situated at a second place and is necessary when mounting the tire anti-skid apparatus, is not situated at a diagonal position or at a 180xc2x0 opposed position with respect to the contact portion of the tire with the ground, there arises no problem. In other words, even in case where the connecting position is shifted to a position where the operation can be executed easily, or in case where the connection itself is carried out at a shifted position, there arises no problem. In addition to this, in case where there are employed three blocks each composed of two anti-skid members formed as an integral body, on the tire tread surface, the anti-skid tread can be arranged in a six divided manner. Therefore, from the general viewpoint, that is, while the number of parts, the number of man-hours for assembling, the arrangement on the tire tread surface and the mounting efficiency of the tire anti-skid apparatus are taken into consideration, there can be provided the most efficient pattern. Also, in case where the anti-skid member is damaged in part, or in case where there is a fear that the anti-skid member can be damaged in part, the remaining portions of the anti-skid member can be used, thereby being able to save the resources.
And, in case where the linking portion arranged on one of the vehicle outside and vehicle inside is formed as an integral body, there can be selected a better structure depending on the whole structure of a tire anti-skid apparatus according to the invention.
Further, since each of the connecting portions is divided into a plurality of sections, the tire anti-skid apparatus can be closely contacted with the surface of the tire while the stability and strength of the tire anti-skid apparatus are enhanced greatly.
By the way, in case where there is formed a slit the depth direction of which is coincident with the thickness direction of the forked pieces of the connecting portions, the bending and deformation of the forked pieces, that is, the bending and deformation of the connecting portions in the tire peripheral direction can be facilitated. Thanks to this, a dimensional difference occurring between the anti-skid tread portions and linking portions can be absorbed further positively, thereby being able to enhance the degree of close contact of the tire anti-skid apparatus with the tire.
And, in the above-structured linking apparatus according to the invention, after the insertion piece of the connecting member is inserted into the hole portion of the member to be connected, the lock portion is pushed into between the first and second members to be connected together, thereby pressing the inner surface of the hole portion against the insertion piece, so that the first and second members can be connected together. This can facilitate, for example, the operation in which the two end portions of the inner linking portion of the tire anti-skid apparatus are connected together to thereby turn the inner linking portion into a loop-shaped state. Also, since the lock member is arranged so as to be removable from between the first and second members to be connected together, removal of the looped state of the inner linking portion can also be attained easily. Further, when the plurality of anti-skid members of the tire anti-skid apparatus are divided into three blocks, in case where the lock member is used for connection of these blocks, the blocks can be separated easily from one another. For example, when removing the tire anti-skid apparatus from the tire, even in case where the tire happens to stop at a position difficult to separate the two end portions of the inner linking portion, by separating two arbitrary blocks from each other, removal of the tire anti-skid apparatus can be carried out easily.
And, because the member including the hole portion is formed of elastic material and the insertion piece is made of rigid material, connection of the member formed of elastic material can be executed effectively. Also, since, in the hole portion, there is disposed a retaining portion for retaining the engaging portion of the connecting member thereto, connection of the member can be carried out more positively.
Further, the hole portion is formed to have such a size that allows the engaging portion and retaining portion to be engaged with and removed from each other through the relative movements of the member and insertion piece. Thanks to this, connection of the member can be attained positively and also removal of the member connected can be achieved easily.